


Ableism, the Autism Spectrum, and Why We Should Maybe Calm Down a Little in Regards to Ink's "Emotionlessness"

by thewindowsshutdownnoise



Series: Character Essays: Undertale Edition [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Character Interpretation, Asperger Syndrome, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 10:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19129885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewindowsshutdownnoise/pseuds/thewindowsshutdownnoise
Summary: The number of “hot takes” in Undertale fic about Ink being a sociopath almost made me back directly out of this fandom, and it just ... keeps happening. So here we go: a sort-of-character-essay addressing Ink’s “emotionlessness” and how slapping the sociopath label onto him is actuallyprettyableist and potentially damaging to young fans with autism/Asperger's.





	Ableism, the Autism Spectrum, and Why We Should Maybe Calm Down a Little in Regards to Ink's "Emotionlessness"

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally only meant to be a Tumblr post, but it turns out I'm just riled enough about some of the ~edgier~ interpretations of Ink's character to post it here, too. Sorry for the, uh, not super official formatting, but I've already used up all my spoons, on this one, and I have no more to give as far as trying to rewrite this in True Essay Format goes.

As someone with Asperger’s who experiences some pretty severe EQ fuckery, myself, I am, yeah, _aware_ of how the world views people who experience, uh ... differing depths of emotion. But it gets pretty friggin’ depressing to be reminded of it when I just want to unwind and read some god damn fanfic, and, instead, end up spending an entire afternoon ( _again_ ) vaguely worried about the messages this fandom sends to young fans on the autism spectrum, sometimes. 

So I’m here with a number of reasons you should consider dropping your edgy “Ink cares for nothing and no one and is a complete sociopath” headcanons and should instead consider writing him as a weird, magical, eternal aspie, instead. Same questionably-loveable bastard man but way less discouraging for all the young whippersnappers out there still coming to terms with the fact that they don’t feel things “right,” as far as the world is concerned.

So:

  * He named his paintbrush. 
  * He named his paintbrush _Broomy_ , and he holds conversations with it, what the fuck, I love this little asshole.
  * For the uninitiated, folks on the autism spectrum tend to personalize objects exactly like this, to the extent that ... well, alright, personal experience, but I relate way, way more to Hell-on-Wheels (my emotional support stuffed unicorn) than most actual human beings. I’d consider feeling bad about this but, hey, did you let me cling to you on bad nights when I was sleeping on the streets, alone and terrified? You did not. Hell-on-Wheels did. Ergo, my brain thinks Hell-on-Wheels is way cooler than you.
  * I really feel the Broomy thing. I could write a whole god damn character essay on Ink’s “relationship” with his paintbrush, alone. 
  * His hyper fixation is literally just “all of art, forever.”
  * Do you know how excited I got when I read about Ink’s feelings bandolier? I mean, at first, I was sort of just like, “ ... huh ... magic aspie emotional assistive device?” And then when I realized how it functioned ( _not all that well_ , oh my god, comyet’s a friggin’ genius) I just breathed out “ _wonky magic aspie emotional assistive device_ ” like I’d seen the face of God or something. Because as much as I love Cassidy (my cane), he’s also a little prick who’s almost tripped and killed me more times than I can count. 
  * What I’m saying is assistive devices are only so assistive, and we should all appreciate the genius of Ink’s bandolier so much more than I feel like we do, as a whole.
  * I, too, laugh at every “Ink does drugs and eats art to feel” joke in existence (because they’re _hilarious_ ) but literally. Literally, the paints serve the same function as every other emotionally stabilizing psych med regimen in existence. Again, not very well, because I don’t know if you’ve ever been put a battalion of psych meds to try to “stabilize” your emotional processing but it’s ... a trip, sometimes, let me tell you. 
  * Sorry to step directly on the “Ink feels nothing and cares for no one” part of all the ~edgy headcanons~ out there (that’s a lie; I’m not even a little sorry, it’s just ... such lazy characterization). But even a _shallow dive_ into Ink’s FAQ brings up:



  * That’s all in the first three bullet points of the “what’s his character like?” section of his FAQ.
  * Also, uh, just saying, but “too excited about things” is The Codephrase for people to use when talking about folks on the autism spectrum and their hyper fixations. 
  * And, alright, leading right into how Ink “feels” ...



  * Man, the sheer amount of time I’ve spent learning to “fake” and mirror emotions and “pretend to be normal” for other people’s benefit is exhausting to even consider, in retrospect. News flash: learning to mirror emotions like that and putting in enough effort to study others (who you don’t naturally relate to … at all, really), in an effort to act as normal as you can so _they_ won’t be uncomfortable, _is_ a form of caring in people who may not otherwise be emotionally capable of showing it. 
  * And let’s all just further consider:
  * This literal ball of creative chaos doesn’t even live among the other monsters/humans he mirrors this stuff for? He’s this weird, distant, eternal figure who doesn’t gain a whole lot of personal benefit from it that couldn’t be gained more easily other ways if he really “cared for nothing and no one.” 
  * He’s still _absolutely_ a complete jerk who laughs at your suffering. He’s just a complete jerk who laughs at your suffering while still mirroring emotions well _enough_  to not be  _too_ personally off-putting. Which is just such a Big Mood, to me.
  * He’s also a super traumatized ball of creative chaos for those who seem to want to just … ignore that part.



  * This tiny bastard man _ripped out his own soul_ after failing to connect with a universe full of emotionless sketches, got kind of fucked up by the anti-Void, and now he’s still out there just ... trying to motivate artists and make art and act _vaguely_ mortal and _still laugh at your suffering_ , which is metal as hell, honestly, and also makes him pretty much the only fictional character that I, an aspie who has experienced severe, isolating trauma, have ever related to on a deep, emotional level.



In conclusion:

Maybe we could just put ... a _little_ more thought into how the “edgy” Ink characterizations people seem to get into could be actively harming young fans with autism/Asperger's, who I guarantee you are drawn to the Undertale fandom in larger-than-usual numbers and who are probably _also_ over-represented among fans of Ink’s character. Because the media seldom hands out even remotely positive portrayals of people with severe EQ issues, and I know I was definitely drawn to Ink’s character for exactly that reason.

And not totally related but still relevant:

  * The next person I see writing something in a fic about how people who “don’t feel emotions” also can’t feel pain, I’m going to write a god damn thesis on how that exact reasoning has been used to literally torture both minorities _and_ mentally ill folks, and I’m going to post it in the comments section of your fic until the entire internet collapses. 
  * _Thanks_.



**Author's Note:**

> As I said, this originally went up on [Tumblr](https://thewindowsshutdownnoise.tumblr.com/post/185434494601/the-number-of-hot-takes-in-undertale-fic-about), and if it's the sort of thing you'd feel comfortable reblogging, well, it's obviously a more personal subject, for me, than most, and I'd actually really appreciate anyone who wants to help ~spread it to the Undertale masses~ or, uh, however you wanna put that.


End file.
